The first color picture from the surface of Titan by Huygens on January 14, 2005.

Cassini is the best-equipped spacecraft we have ever sent to another planet. One of the most powerful scientific instruments carried to Saturn by Cassini was the Huygens probe, which itself carried half a dozen sensitive instruments to study the atmosphere and surface of Saturn's giant moon Titan.

A camera aboard Huygens recorded more than a thousand images of Titan's surface and clouds. Another instrument used radio signals to measure Titan's winds. Three sensors analyzed the moon's atmosphere. Huygens survived the landing on January 14, 2005, to photograph and measure Titan's surface.

In December 2004, Cassini released the Huygens probe. The small 722-lb. cone-shaped probe coasted for three weeks as it descended into Titan's cloudy atmosphere.

Three sets of parachutes deployed to slow the probe and provide a stable platform for scientific measurements. Instruments on board collected information about the atmosphere's chemical composition and the clouds surrounding Titan. The collected data was radioed to the Cassini orbiter, which then relayed the data to Earth.

About two hours after entering Titan's atmosphere, the probe landed near the moon's equator. Huygens survived the impact and then was able to communicate with Cassini for a few minutes as planned after landing on the frozen surface of Titan. Huygens was the farthest human-made object ever to land on a Solar System body.